CBC host Travis Dhanraj says he was 'silenced' and 'forced to resign' after raising systemic issues

Former CBC News host Travis Dhanraj said he had no choice but to resign from the broadcaster after he raised systemic issues related to lack of diversity of opinion and editorial independence and was stonewalled by his employer. His lawyer says he intends to sue the public broadcaster.

In an internal note to fellow CBC staff sent out Monday morning, Dhanraj said he decided to leave the broadcaster after his questioning of some of the CBC's editorial decisions and the "gap between CBC's stated values and its internal reality" was met with resistance.

"This was not a voluntary decision." he wrote in the farewell message sent to various CBC group email addresses from his CBC account.

"When I pushed for honest conversations about systemic issues and editorial imbalance, I was shut out. Sidelined. Silenced. And ultimately, erased."

He accused his employer of "tokenism masquerading as diversity, problematic political coverage protocols and the erosion of editorial independence" and said he had to "navigate a workplace culture defined by retaliation, exclusion and psychological harm."

CBC 'categorically rejects' allegations

In an emailed statement, CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly said the Crown corporation "categorically rejects" Dhanraj's allegations about what led to his departure, including the assertion in his email to staff that he had been "forced to resign."

Kelly did not elaborate on Dhanraj's resignation or the reason he went on leave earlier this year; nor did she comment on his specific claims about editorial independence and newsroom culture at CBC. She said the broadcaster is limited in what it can say because of "privacy and confidentiality considerations." 

"We are saddened to see this public attack on the integrity of CBC News," Kelly said.

Dhanraj also posted a Google form on the social media site X earlier Monday in which he asked people to leave their contact information so he could keep them informed about the case.

"When the time is right, I'll pull the curtain back," he wrote on the form. "I'll share everything…. I'll tell you what is really happening inside the walls of your CBC."

The post was later removed.

When CBC News reached out to Dhanraj's Toronto-based lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, to ask if he intends to sue the broadcaster, she responded with a one-word answer: "Yes."

She earlier told the Toronto Star that Dhanraj also plans to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Marshall told The Canadian Press that as the host of Canada Tonight, Dhanraj had wanted to feature diverse political views and more conservative guests but that CBC management and senior staff objected.

"I was repeatedly denied access to key newsmakers," Dhanraj alleged in a copy of his "involuntary resignation" letter published by the Toronto Sun.

"Internal booking and editorial protocols were weaponized to create structural barriers for some while empowering others — particularly a small circle of senior Ottawa-based journalists. When I questioned these imbalances, I was met with silence, resistance and, eventually, retaliation."

Previously worked at CP24, CTV, Global

Born in Alberta, Dhanraj was a general assignment reporter for CBC Edmonton and CBC Toronto before leaving for positions at CP24, Global News and CTV News.

He returned to CBC in 2021 as a senior parliamentary reporter and later hosted Marketplace and Canada Tonight. 

Speculation began swirling in February when Canada Tonight was replaced by Ian Hanomansing's Hanomansing Tonight.

CBC confirmed at the time that Dhanraj, who had abruptly stopped appearing on air at the end of 2024, was on leave but did not provide additional details. Dhanraj's lawyer said he had been "compelled to step away for a time" because of "ongoing systemic issues" at the broadcaster.

The first public sign of tension surfaced a few months earlier in April 2024 when Dhanraj posted on X that he had requested an interview with then CBC president Catherine Tait after new funding for the public broadcaster was announced in the federal budget but that she declined to appear.

Tait had been in the crosshairs of MPs and media over CBC's decision to approve executive bonuses and contradictory claims about whether the staff cuts it had announced in December 2023 were on account of being asked by Ottawa to cut its budget.

Dhanraj said in his resignation letter that CBC launched an investigation over that post and asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which he said he refused to do.